Not what was expected
by DeimosPhobos
Summary: Fai and Sakura get separated from the rest of the group and end up in an old warehouse. Now they have to get out without getting caught, or killed...


Have you ever traveled to a new place, with hopes high? Dreaming of finding the answer to your sorrows, or that which belongs to someone you care deeply for? You would do almost anything for them; you have become so close to them, almost family. Sure, you tried to resist, but eventually, you caved. You care for them, and you cannot allow them to get hurt. Especially her.

Fai crashed to the ground, groaning softly. Someone else landed beside him, hand brushing his side. The mage blinked, looking next to his side

"Who is there?" he asked, already making a guess "Sakura-chan?"

"Yes, it's me. Why is it dark, Fai-san?"

"I think we're indoors. No lights. I'm about to find out. Wait here." He muttered, getting to his feet. He began feeling the air around him, trying to find a wall. He soon found one; and began walking alongside it, looking for an exit.

"Fai-san?" Sakura asked, a tremble to her voice

"I'm over here, follow my voice." He called out. Shuffling footsteps were heard, and the princess clamped onto his arm.

"Where are the others?" she asked. Fai blinked again. Where were they, anyway?

"I believe we were split up again. They can't be far away, since we can still understand each other."

Sakura sighed.

"I'm scared for them. What if something happens?" Fai smiled

"We don't need to worry; they have Kuro-woof." He returned to feeling along the wall, now with one hand.

Sakura frowned. Feeling around this room like blind people would do them no good. It would take forever to find a way out! Reaching into her pocket, she withdrew a small plastic container with a metal top. Swiftly flicking her thumb across a miniature wheel, she created a small flame. Fai gave a start, and then smiled.

"Is that from the last world?" he asked. Sakura nodded, grinning and handing it to him. Taking it, Fai held the thing high, spreading the small circle of light out farther. The mage quickly found a door, and they ran over to it. Voices could be heard outside, and they sounded angry. And loud.

"Sakura-chan, I need you to go and hide. I don't think those are friends out there." He whispered. Sakura nodded, and ran to hide inside an enormous pot. Fai nodded to himself, and cracked the door open. He blew the lighter out, stowing it in his pocket.

Thankfully, the door made no sound, and the lithe figure slinked out and began to seek an exit.

Peering around a stack of crates, Fai got a glimpse of the people whose voices the princess and he had heard earlier. True to his guess, these looked like fairly dangerous people; armed with gun and cutlass.

"I don't want them to find me, then. They look like trouble. I have to find a way out!" he thought, quietly backing up. He was about to turn around and go off down another hall, until a hand shot out, grabbing him roughly by his neck, and dragging him over to the others. He threw him to the ground, kicking him hard in the side.

"Look what I found." The man, who had grabbed him, laughed. Someone catcalled stupidly, obliviously drunk.

"He sure is pretty." Another joked.

"Shut up both of you. What I want to know is who he is. And how he got in." the man yelled, the last to Fai. The mage sat up slowly, coughing, with an arm wrapped protectively around his side. Instead of answering, he looked around at the faces.

Two tall and lanky guys with stupid grins, a short fat guy with a mustache, and one large hairy guy. The last had the build of a pro wrestler, and looked like he could kill anyone with a swat of his hand.

I don't think he heard you, Stiff." The fat one said, pointing to the blond man, who was now doodling in the dust on the floor. Stiff kicked the unknown man again, who gave a short cry of pain before glaring up at him.

"Who are you?"

"Well," Fai huffed "If you want to know who I am, you could have just asked."

_This guy is mental. Laughing one minute, and yelling the next? This should be fun for the moment._

Stiff just stared down at him. One of the tall guys began laughing.

Stiff's eye twitched.

"I have already." he snapped. Fai's eyes widened in mock realization, and he blinked.

"Fai."

"What?"

"That is my name."

"What is your business,_ Fai_?" The fat guy said in a surprisingly high voice, waddling up to the blond and peering into his eyes, which wasn't that hard of a task. Fai was sitting as high as the man was tall. He shrugged.

"I got lost." The mage deadpanned. Stiff's face began to turn purple.

"How'd you end up lost here? How did you even get in here?"

Fai smiled, pointing to the ceiling. The gang all looked up, seeing noting but the rafters and the inside view of the roof of their warehouse-like building. A skinny man looked over to another part of the ceiling, where a grimy and broken skylight was located.

"Don't tell me!" he began "You dove in through the glass!" his twin-like figure seemed to agree, and they gave each other a high-five. Everyone else looked at them quizzically; the drop from the window was far too high for anyone to drop through, and remain unscathed. Or alive, for that matter.

"Oh, absolutely." Fai smiled, dodging another kick from Stiff. He stood to his feet, about to leap away and run off to get Sakura and escape; until Stiff growled, punching him hard across his head, sending the mage into darkness.

"He has been gone too long," thought Sakura. She shifted a little from her current position; inside of the huge pot. Her legs were beginning to cramp. She began to think.

"If Syaoran were here, he wouldn't just sit off to the side, and wait to be rescued! Fai may be in trouble! I can't just stay here!"

Coming to a decision, the princess leapt out of her hiding place, slinking over to the door. She poked her head out to check if anyone was around, and, finding no one, bolted out. Quickly picking out a single pair of footprints on the dusty floor, she stooped to quickly examine them.

"About his size, I guess." She muttered, and began to follow them. The trail stopped cold at a pile of crates, only to be joined by another set. The first set then turned into two long treads, of someone being dragged off. She nodded, and began to follow the ghost footprints once again.

"Mokona would be so proud of me!" she thought, smiling. She stopped when the footprints ended. Her jade eyes were drawn almost instantly to the spot on the ground where an odd doodle was present next to a few drops of blood. She gasped

"A cat! Fai!"

Fai staggered, before falling like a brick back to the ground. Stiff bent down to pick him up, and swung him over his shoulder. Turning around, he briskly walked off down a dark corridor. The others swiftly followed. They entered an even darker room, where Stiff had begun to tie up his captive to a chair. He was planning on just leaving him here to rot, not wanting to dirty his hands. Looking up sharply, he began barking orders.

"Idiots! Don't just stand there! Go and check for accomplices or something!"

Not wanting to be there any longer for fear of premature death, they bolted. Stiff growled, turning back to what he was working on. Realizing that his men weren't smart enough to tie their own shoes, he growled, and harshly tied the final knot tightly, and exited the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

"How did I wind up with idiots like them for employees anyway?" he complained to himself, not really needing an answer. He was the one who had hired them in the first place. Idiots were cheaper.

Sakura flinched. Voices could be heard, and they were getting closer.

"Someone's coming! I have to hide!" she squeaked. Frantically looking around, she spotted the perfect hiding place, and quickly dove behind a row of oil drums. If she had waited for another moment, she would have been spotted. The three men raced past en masse, looking straight ahead; rather than splitting up and scanning the area. When the area was clear, she poked her head around her hiding place. She had been able to see the men through a small space between the drums.

She looked over to where the left, where the men had first appeared, deciding to try that route. Turning down a poorly lit hall, she glanced up, and saw a shadow rushing up to her. She quickly spun into a doorway, crouching down with her hands over her head. The shadow kept going, running as if it hadn't even seen her in the first place. She breathed out a sigh of relief and crept out, tiptoeing down the rest of the hall.

"Fai…? Where are you?" she whispered in the loudest voice she dared. A soft sound slipped out of the last room in the hall. Whistling.

Fai came to almost as soon as the door slammed. He groaned, shaking his head.

"Oh, bad idea." He moaned, trying to ignore the pain caused by the hard hit from Stiff. He cracked his eyes open.

"Sakura-chan?" he whispered.

_I hope that she hasn't been caught yet…_

On instinct, he began to whistle softly. He changed the tune sharply, and magic appeared, snapping the ropes wrapped around his legs. He stopped, smiling softly.

"This will make it a lot easier."

He was about to begin whistling again, until a soft pecking sound reached his ears.

"Hmm?" he said, looking towards the door that he could barely see. A small voice called into the room

"Fai-san?"

Fai smiled, whistling softly in return. The door opened, and the princess rushed in. She squinted, eyes adjusting to the darkness.

"Fai-san? Where are you?" she asked. The mage shifted a little, trying to bring some feeling back into his numb arms, before replying

"I'm right in front of you." Sakura squeaked, jumping back and stuttering an apology.

"Why is it so dark in here?" she asked, changing the subject. Fai took a wild guess.

"The lights are turned off."

Sakura nodded, returning to the door and feeling around on the walls until she found what she was looking for.

"I'm going to turn the lights on, ok?" she said

"Alright, then." the mage replied.

Sakura flicked the switch, and a bright light filled the room. They both squinted, until their eyes adjusted once again. The princess turned back around, and screamed.

"Fai-san!" the mage smiled sheepishly, wincing when the gash on his head gave a nasty throb. He could feel the sticky blood crawling down the side of his face. Sakura rushed towards him, untying him. Blood raced back to his arms, making his fingers sting momentarily.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan." He stood, stretching. Sakura looked at him, worried.

"I'll be fine." he assured her, hiding the pain with a smile. He began to walk to the door, and then paused.

"What part of the building are we in?" he asked, turning back to the princess. She froze, fear in her eyes as her eyes locked on the space behind Fai.

"Not far from where you last remember." Stiff said, knuckles cracking. Fai jumped, dodging an unseen punch from the man. Stiff looked over to Sakura, grinning.

"You shouldn't have screamed so loudly, miss." He said. Fai stood protectively in front of the princess, glaring.

"Oh, pretty boy's protective!" one of the skinny guys giggled, appearing in the doorway. Stiff rolled his eyes, and then looked back to the two travelers.

"I can't allow you two to leave." He said, reaching into his jacket. "You shouldn't have come here. Now, both of you will have to die."

He pulled a pistol out, aiming, and Fai acted on instinct.

Stiff fired off a shot.

Fai put up a shield.

"What?!" Stiff roared. "What is this? What did you do?"

Fai didn't answer; he was already vanishing with Sakura, using magic to leave the warehouse entirely.

A small vortex appeared in the middle of a small street. Fai stood, helping Sakura to her feet. They looked around, taking in the surrounding area.

"We didn't leave the world, did we?" Sakura asked, looking up at the mage. He smiled.

"No. I just got us out of that place."

"I'm sorry, Fai-san." Sakura blurted out suddenly. Fai stopped for a moment. He then wrapped an arm around her shoulders, briefly hugging her.

"Sorry for what?" he said "If it hadn't been for you in the first place, I'd still be tied up back there. You were very brave, going out and searching for me like that. Thank you."

"But…If I would've kept quite and not screamed, we wouldn't have been caught!"

Fai shrugged. The past was in the past.

"How about we try to find someplace to spend the night?" he said. It was fairly dark out, and neither of them wanted to spend a night out on the streets. Sakura nodded, marching up to the door to a small house. She knocked on the door, and waited. Shuffling feet could be heard inside, and a voice yelled

"Who the hell is it?" another one yawned, and them opened to door a crack.

"Yes?" the second voice asked. Sakura beamed, turning around to Fai and waving him over.

"I think I found the perfect place!" she whispered. Fai stared at the door, confused. Stomping footsteps erupted in the house, stopping at the door.

"Move, kid." a man growled. The door was wrenched open, and there stood Syaoran and Kurogane.

"Princess!" the boy yelled, jumping out of the door. Sakura hugged him, smiling. Kurogane stood, looking from the princess to the mage.

"Well, where the hell have you two been?" he demanded.

"I have no idea. We left before we could find out." Fai answered, smiling. Kurogane glared.

"What happened to your head?"

"We ran into some… not-so-nice people. Where's Mokona?"

"Sleeping."

Syaoran turned, looking at the blood on Fai's head.

"You should get that cleaned." He said "We have bandages inside."

While cleaning up the gash on his head, Fai had told the others of what had happened from his point of view. Sakura had thrown in parts of her story in as well. Syaoran smiled when she told of how "Syaoran would never have just sat around and waited to be rescued".

"How did you two get out?" the ninja asked bluntly. Fai didn't answer at first, instead slowly rummaging around through the medical supplies. He withdrew a square of gauze, and held it against his wound.

"Magic." he muttered

"I knew it."

Fai looked away from the group, a worried look in his eyes, mixed with slight panic.

_I told myself that I would never use my magic again… What if _he_ wakes up soon? Would he catch me?! _

"…We would've died if you didn't use your magic, Fai-san." Sakura said quietly. Fai, turned, looking at her. The worry melted out of his eyes, and he smiled.

_It was worth it._


End file.
